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What Is the Black National Anthem Song? Exploring Controversy at Chiefs vs Ravens Game Tonight
Black National Anthem song keeps dividing opinions even after being is use by the NFL for 4 years now. All you need to know about the controversy.
The hymn Lift Every Voice and Sing, often known as The Black National Anthem, was penned in 1900 by NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson. The lyrics were composed by his brother, John Rosamond Johnson (1873–1954), who also wrote the music.
What is the Black National Anthem song?
The Black national anthem is the term coined for the song Lift Every Voice And Sing. Johnson's lyrics, written at the turn of the 20th century, poignantly expressed Black Americans' melancholy yet hopeful cry for liberty.
A prominent rallying cry during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, the song was later adopted by the NAACP and set against the religious invocation of God and the promise of freedom. The lyrics of the song go like this:
“Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us.
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us.
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,
Let us march on ’til victory is won.”
Before kickoff, a performance of Lift Every Voice and Sing, commonly known as the "Black national anthem," took place. Prior to the Kansas City Chiefs' game against the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night at Arrowhead Stadium, Grammy Award-winning singer Tasha Cobbs Leonard was selected to perform her song "Lift Every Voice and Sing".
Cobbs Leonard has received three Billboard Music Awards in her career in addition to her 2014 Grammy Award for Best Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music Performance.
Why is the NFL playing the Black national anthem before games?
NFL has been playing the Black national anthem since 2020, following a summer of racial unrest following George Floyd's murder. The same level of attention was paid to the announcement that the song would be performed before the game as it has in the past.
Why the controversy behind the Black National Anthem?
The controversy mostly comes from the name as if there is a Black National Anthem then, a White National Anthem should be there as well. The song has been played before the Super Bowl every year since George Floyd’s murder. Both sides of opinions have received a ferocious online response. While some have chastised fans for not standing during the song, fans have frequently voiced their opinions about it.
In her plea to her audience, Cobbs Leonard wrote, "We celebrate unity, culture, and the thrill of the game. I’m beyond excited to kick off the NFL season with a powerful live performance of ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ at the Chiefs vs. Ravens game in Kansas City! This will be a night to remember—football, music, and an electric atmosphere."
The Ravens fell to the Kansas City Chiefs, 27-20, in the opening game of the NFL season on Thursday night.
The Ravens trailed for most of the night and had the ball at Kansas City's 10-yard line for one final play, but tight end Isaiah Likely's foot was just barely out of bounds on what would have been a touchdown catch.
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